This Town
by keep-me-close
Summary: Saint is a spitting image of Austin's late wife. When he runs into her at the store he mistakes her for his wife but immediately finds that Saint is an entirely different person. But Austin is determined to have Saint in his life even if it's for all the wrong reasons. Saint, however, is determined to keep him at arm's length.


p class="MsoNormal"em"Fuck you Austin!" I yelled and threw the nearest object at him, it happened to be lamp. Unfortunately, he dodged it. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"Saint listen to me!" Austin yelled back. He took a step toward me but stopped when I went to grab a vase from the coffee table. "It wasn't like that." /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"It wasn't like that," I scoffed. "Look me in the eye say that. Tell me that that wasn't your intention the moment you met me. Tell me that that never crossed your mind after I walked out of that store." But he couldn't. He couldn't even look at me. Instead he looked down at the floor and sighed. "That's what I thought." /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"Saint I…" but he didn't finish. I knew what he wanted to say, but I also knew that if he did say it he wouldn't mean it. I think he knew that as well. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"Was it worth it Austin? Was it worth all of this?" I asked. I had lost all my fight and it showed in my voice. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"No. No it wasn't," he whispered. This time he did look at me and I could see it in his eyes that he meant it. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"You're losing her all over again." I didn't have anything else to say. Nothing either of us said would fix what had been done. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"Please don't go," Austin begged when I got to the door. I stopped with my hand on the knob and turned to look at him. Tears were streaming down his face and he looked so broken. But so was I, I just had years of practicing how to hide it. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em"Goodbye."/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"It was raining, but it was appropriate considering what was about to happen. I was being released. After six years, I was finally being discharged. Apparently, my sanity had returned and cured my demons. At least that's what the staff believed; in reality I had learned what to say and do to make them think I was being cured. Slowly but surely it worked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Are you ready to go Saint?" Dr. Greenfield asked from behind me. "Saint?" He asked again when I didn't respond./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah," I answered. I probably should've been more enthusiastic, but considering I was going to living on my own for the first time in six years I suppose they thought I was just nervous./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""You can always call if you need to," the doctor reminded me. He had been reminding me for the past couple of days which was what gave it away that I was being released. "In the meantime, live your life." That seemed to be the unofficial motto for the hospital; all the doctors and nurses said it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Who's picking me up?" I asked as I followed Dr. Greenfield down the overly white hallway. Per one of the nurses, everything was white because it was a calming color. Anything too dark or bright could affect the healing process./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Your mom was going to come, but she had a doctor's appointment of her own to go to. I took the liberty of calling you a cab. It's all paid for and he knows where to go." Waiting by the front door was all my things. It wasn't much, just a duffel bag full of clothes and couple of books. "Your phone is in the front pocket of your duffel bag along with a piece of paper that has my number on it. I wish you the best Saint."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Bye." I wasn't really surprised that no one came to get me. As much as I wanted to believe that my mom actually had a doctor's appointment, I knew it was just a cover. My family wasn't neglectful by any means, they were just emotional. Something as simple as me being released who send them all into a crying frenzy./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Congratulations," the cab driver said from the front seat. He looked at me through the rear-view mirror with a bright smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Thanks," I mumbled. I just wanted to go home. I had to unpack all my things, make an appointment to DMV to renew my license since it expired while I was in the hospital, and relish in being able to be alone for once./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"The cab driver turned the radio up slightly and pulled away from the curb. Luckily while I was in the hospital I could use to internet and have an iPod. Music was the only thing that kept me from going insane for the past six years. When I was admitted, I was nineteen and just coming out of my "emo phase." I still listened to some of the same music as the years went by but developed a new love for artists like The Killers and Frank Sinatra. A huge gap in styles, but still good nonetheless./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"If I remembered correctly, the drive from the hospital to my house was about ten minutes; we had been driving for at least twenty. I wanted to ask where we going but the cab driver was so focused on weaving through traffic and humming to the radio that I didn't say anything. Another five minutes went by before we pulled up to a large tan house with a gate blocking the front door./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Here we are," the cab driver announced happily. I looked at the house with mild interest. This wasn't my house and I wasn't about to pretend that it was./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""I don't live here," I informed him. He smiled at me again through the rear-view mirror and nodded./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""I believe you do. This was the address your family gave the doctor and then he passed it along to me. Do you need help with you bags?" I declined his offer and thanked him. During the drive I had found some money in my duffel bag so I gave him a five for a tip. "Here's my card. If you need anything give me a call."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you." I was a bit surprised by his offer, but I took his card nonetheless then gathered my things. I waited on the curb for him to drive away before turning around and looking at the house again. With a sigh, I ventured up the driveway. On the gate was a note and I immediately recognized my aunt's handwriting./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"emSaint, /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emWe are so proud of you! We wanted to be there to pick you up, but your mother had to go to the doctor for a check-up. There's a key under the mat in front of the door. Welcome to the beginning of a new start./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emLove you, /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emAunt Nahla. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"So my mom really did have to go to the doctor. Comforting. Apparently they bought me a new house while I was admitted. Not so comforting. I didn't like change. Especially when I didn't have a say in it. I also really liked my other house. I had been only lived in it about a year before I had to relocate, but it was the first large thing I had bought on my own. There was nothing I could do about it I guess. Taking the note with me, I opened the gate./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"As promised there was a key under the mat. Rather than let it sink in, I opened the front door and stepped inside. As much as I wanted to hate the house, it was beautiful inside. All the furniture was black, leather, and medieval looking. The walls were grey with a white trim and the floors were light oak wood to offset from the dark furniture. Setting my bag down on the stairs, I ventured farther into the house. The kitchen had stainless steel appliances and marble counter tops. The dining table was black as well./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Nice," I muttered when I finally got to my room. The furniture matched the ones downstairs, but my walls were painted a slightly darker grey. There was a bathroom connected to the bedroom and a large closet that already had clothes in it. I was about to unpack everything when my stomach demanded my attention./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Of course," I sighed as I looked through the freezer. The kitchen was stocked with food but there was one important thing missing: TV dinners. I knew they weren't healthy and full of salt but they were delicious. I searched for my car keys for a moment then realized I didn't have any. But curiosity got the better of me and I wondered into the garage./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"To say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement. I was outright astonished. In the middle of the garage was a dark red Mercedes AMG GT wrapped in a pink bow. On the windshield was note that said "from grandpa." I opened the driver side door and sat down. The seats were leather and extremely comfortable. There was also a key in the ignition. While I knew I had an expired license, I didn't care. I needed to go to the store and I wanted to drive the car. Once the bow and note were off the car, I opened the garage door and took off into town./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Will that be all?" The cashier asked with a tired smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah," I replied and returned the smile as best I could. Even though I didn't like people, I wasn't one for being rude. "Thank you," I told her and grabbed my bags after paying for everything. I was about to walk out of the store when I was engulfed in a large, tight embrace. "Get off of me!" I demanded and pulled away from the hug. I assumed it was one of my family members but when I looked up it was a man I didn't know./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Taylor is it really you?" The stranger asked. He looked like he was about to cry and I'm sure I looked like I was confused out of my mind. Probably because I was./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Who the hell is Taylor?" I asked before I could stop myself. The stranger looked at me for a moment before his eyes went wide./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Oh my god I'm so sorry. I thought you were my wi… I thought you were someone else," he apologized sheepishly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Austin are you ready to go," another stranger asked suddenly as he approached. He glanced at me and then did a quick double take. "Tay-"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""No this is…" the stranger stopped him then looked over at me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Saint," I filled in for him. Never before had I had such an awkward encounter./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""This is Saint. I accidentally bumped into her and was just apologizing. I'm Austin and this is my friend Alan."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hi," I replied blandly. "Anyway, sorry for… bumping into you. Have a good day." I didn't stay a second longer. Once I got to my car I threw my bags in the passenger seat and drove home. After I put all but one of the TV dinners in the freezer and put the other in the microwave I grabbed my laptop from my room and placed it on the kitchen island. As much as I didn't want to go to the DMV I had to./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"After dinner, I took a well-deserved bubble bath then got into my pajamas. I was going to put on a movie but as soon as I laid down on my bed I was out like a light./p 


End file.
